Welcome Home
by Black Shadow Fox Shaman
Summary: This was it. The final confrontation between the last remaining Uchiha brothers.


Welcome Home

**Welcome Home **

A/N: I don't own Naruto unfortunately. This story was a random one shot that was inspired by the song 'Anywhere' by Evenescence. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to review please.

I stood there for a moment coming to grips with the fact that my older brother was standing in front of me wearing a shit eating smirk. Rage washed over me like a tsunami. He was just standing there daring me to attack him. I knew this was going to be the final confrontation with my brother. One or both of us were going to die today. I prayed with everything that I am that he doesn't make it out of this alive. After everything he'd done in the past he shouldn't be allowed to live past this day. I've been waiting for this day for the longest time, and I was determined not to fail to avenge my fallen family. At one point in time I envied my brother but now I couldn't do anything but loath his entire being. He was the reason I'd suffered so much. For a moment I wondered briefly what would have happened if I hadn't done half the things I'd done up to this point, but I shook it off and continued to stare into my brother's impassive eyes. My brother and I stood there watching each other gauging for some kind of movement, or some kind of sign that the battle was about to begin. The wind tugged at our black locks. Itachi reached up and brushed his long bangs away from his eyes. Something red that was normally out of place caught my eye making me stare at what was around his wrist. A red headband with the symbol of the Leaf was wrapped around his wrist. The red cloth was flecked with old blood stains. Something in the back of my mind was telling me I'd seen this item before, but I couldn't place it. Of course I couldn't care one way or another, or so it seemed, I kept telling myself. It was a nagging sense of familiarity that kept tugging, but I pushed it aside as my brother's hand vanished again in his cloak. The woods were deathly silent as if they sensed the impending death coming of one or both of us, the last remaining members of the Uchiha Clan. The Sharingan would die with them, and I was more than willing to make the sacrifice so that my brother died for his crimes. I would be the one to exact my fallen family's revenge. What happened next started in slow motion. I couldn't standing waiting for him to attack so I leapt forward my katana drawn ready to cut my brother down. He leapt backwards and when the sword hit his body it vanished into a cloud of ravens.

"Come out and face me coward!" I shouted.

In a fit of rage I flashed through the hand signs for my dragon flame jutsu and burned the entire clearing. I couldn't understand why I couldn't keep my anger in check now when I'd done it a hundred times before. Even in the face of danger I'd never lost my cool.

"Foolish little brother," I heard him call to me as the fire died down.

The trees were scorched. I looked around with my Sharingan blazing to life in my eyes. He was around I could feel the chilling aura of his, but I couldn't locate his physical location. The wind pushed my long black bangs forward whipping them into my eyes. Then I felt it spinning around I flashed through the necessary hand signs for my chidori and the electricity flowed through my katana. The sound of thousands of birds chirping resonated through the clearing. Itachi appeared before me our Sharingans met in a heated glance. Before I realized what was happening I ran my katana through my brother's chest. He just smirked and vanished in a cloud of ravens. I curse softly. Spinning around I tried to find him again. His chakra flickered softly for a moment before appearing behind me. Swiftly turning around I lunged forward. This time I hit something. My katana was sliding through his chest for real this time. Blood dripped from his pale lips. In a malicious way I twisted the blade in his heart. Between the pounding in my temples I could feel the slowing of his heart through the vibrations of my katana. It was almost over. I gasped in pain as I felt his hand go through my abdomen. A slow smirk graced his features knowing the neither of us were going to make it from this clearing alive. I yanked my katana out of his chest causing the blood to flow faster from his chest wound. He stepped back and wavered a small bit. A small yelp of pain escaped my lips as his hand slid from my wound. I fought the urge to collapse to my knees as I watching my brother taking his final breaths. I tried to staunch the bleeding with my hands but nothing was working. Itachi fell to the ground bleeding profusely. With a few gasping breaths my brother's chest stilled. His eyes dulled to a gray color. It was done. I clenched my fist and heard metal groan in protest looking down I realized that during the battle I'd unconsciously retrieved the red headband from my brother's wrist. How or when I don't remember but it was in my hands now as if it meant something to me, but I couldn't place why. My fingers clenched around the metal plate. I sank to my knees the blood loss finally catching up with me. A sense of accomplishment washed over me when it hit me that I'd won against my older brother, but any victory like that was short lived knowing that I'd be joining him in death because I didn't have the chakra to get anywhere to have someone to heal me. White spots danced before my eyes letting me know that unconsciousness wasn't to far away. The sounds around me began to fade into a dim humming of something I couldn't name. I was starting to feel sluggish and heavy. Sleep was calling my name like a siren beckoning me with her sweet voice. In the recesses of my mind I thought I felt someone touch my shoulder and whisper, 'that it was okay to let go now.' Smiling a true smile I allowed darkness swamped my vision as I hit the ground.

The scenery shifted around me. I was walking towards the front gates of a familiar village. A small smirk graced my features knowing exactly where I was. How I got there exactly I didn't know but details could be figured out later. The headband I gained from my battle with my brother was gone which confused me. I tried so hard to get it back and yet I lost it on the way here. I moved towards the gates but stopped a few feet from entering wondering what had stopped me. Something seemed off and not right, but I ignored it as my imagination. A flash of red, pink and white caught my eye as figure landed gracefully in front of the gates blocking my path to the village. An undignified snort escaped me as I realized who it was. I shouldn't have been surprised that she'd greet me here. This is the only time I'd admit to myself how much she'd grown since that last meeting in the Sound all those years ago. Her hair was tied back by her red headband. Her hair was shoulder length instead of the short cropped hair she had been forced to endure after the battle in the Forest of Death against those three Sound nins. Where I was forced for the first time to use the curse mark to save her from a certain death by the hands of the three Sound nins that were sent to kill him. Her movement brought my attention up to her again. I couldn't believe I allowed myself to lapse into a sense of being unaware, but I was home and the threat was gone. She brought her hand up and held her hand out to me beckoning me to follow her into the village. A haunting smile was across her face.

"It's done," I tell her. "I killed him."

"I know."

It never occurred to me that she shouldn't have known that I'd finished off my brother to avenge my family. The thought was pushed aside as the got lost in her beautiful smile and deep emerald eyes. Her smile never falters. For some reason I look over my shoulder as if something weren't right about the entire place. "Come on Sasuke-kun. You don't have to look back anymore its over. It's safe to come home now."

"Home," I murmur softly as if any hope of such a place was too good to be true.

I hesitantly move forward and took her hand. Taking a step backwards she gently pulls me towards the gates. Her smile became one of true happiness. Her eyes glittered with an emotion that I hadn't seen in so long that I'd almost forgotten what it had been like for someone to have that look in their eyes towards me, unconditional love. A look I haven't seen since I was a child looking into my mother's eyes. At one time Sakura had carried that look for me, but I never would believe or acknowledge it until my brother was dead. Now I believed that she meant every word of it when she'd told me that she'd loved me that night I'd knocked her out and left her on the bench. Hesitantly, I follow her into the gates of the city before everything goes white, but I can still feel her hand holding mind. She moved closer to me, and I feel her cheek against mine as she brushes her lips closely against my ear. She gathers her breath for a moment before continuing.

"Welcome home Sasuke-kun," she murmured softly.

I smiled and was surrounded by her warmth as my sight faded.

Naruto cursed heavily as he landed on the battlefield. He looked at the devastation that the two Uchiha's had caused. Trees bore the scorch marks of the Uchiha's fire. Two bodies lay motionless across from each other both surrounded by pools of their own blood. The three other ninjas with him moved in closer. Two checked on the older Uchiha while he and the other ninja check on Sasuke.

"He's dead," one of the nins called from across the way as they knelt and checked over the older Uchiha.

He nodded his head as he knelt beside Sasuke's body. Tears glistening in his sapphire eyes, a few tears slipped down his whiskered cheek. The red in Sasuke's hand made him reach for it realizing exactly what it was. It was her headband. Pain washed through him like a tidal wave.

"Is he?" the nin beside him asked.

"Yes," Naruto sighed softly in dejection.

He looked at the red headband clenched in his fist. Itachi had just taken from him the last member of his team. The Older Uchiha had claimed the life of his best friend and the only person he'd consider his brother, and a few days before had claimed the life of his sister.

"At least they're together now," the only female nin offered to the distraught blonde.

Naruto nodded his head. He was gratefully for that at least or so he hoped.

"Let's get these two back to the village where they belong."

Carefully as if Sasuke were a piece of glass he picked him up not caring in the least as the blood stained his orange jacket crimson. The color reminded him of his eyes and half of his family crest and also her family colors.

"We'll put them together as they would have wanted it, and maybe they'll have peace now together."

Naruto carried his dead best friend back to the village and had him buried next to her in the cemetery for the fallen ninjas. They're headstones had been one block as he'd commissioned it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he'd known that even Sasuke had won it would have cost him a terrible price that not only had he paid, but she had paid it as well. Because despite everything she still loved him then, now and probably forever. As the morning light touched the pale gray stone he thought for a moment he heard her whisper softly;

'_Welcome home Sasuke-kun.'_

Closing his eyes he allowed the wind to caress him. He couldn't help the small smile creep upon his face. They were finally home. On their stone it read;

_'Two Souls that had finally found their way home.'_

A single cherry blossom tree in bloom shaded the graves and a single white flower drifted from its place and landed on the stone.


End file.
